Connecticut

The Constitution State

Connecticut is the third smallest state by area and the southernmost state in the northeastern region of the United States known as New England. Its capital city is Hartford. The state is named after the Connecticut River, a major U.S. river that approximately bisects the state. The name is a French corruption of the Algonquian word quinetucket, which means “long tidal river”.

Called the Constitution State, Nutmeg State, and “The Land of Steady Habits”, it was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Much of southern and western Connecticut (along with the majority of the state’s population) is part of the New York metropolitan area..

Connecticut’s first European settlers were Dutch. They established a small, short-lived settlement in the seventeenth century colonial province of New Netherland, where the Park and Connecticut rivers meet, that eventually developed into Hartford, Connecticut.

Initially, half of Connecticut was a part of the Dutch colony, New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England. Thomas Hooker led a band of followers overland from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded what would become the Connecticut Colony; other settlers from Massachusetts founded the Saybrook Colony and the New Haven Colony. The Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a royal charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.

The Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition. The state also has a long history of hosting the financial-services industry, including insurance companies in Hartford and long island sound funds in Fairfield County.

The mission of The Mark Twain House & Museum is to foster an appreciation of the legacy of Mark Twain as one of our nation’s defining cultural figures, and to demonstrate the continuing relevance of his work, life and times.

The mission of the Yale University Art Gallery is to encourage appreciation and understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art.

Travel:

Roads:
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) maintains a system of state highways to serve the predominant flow of traffic between towns within Connecticut, and to towns in surrounding states. State highways also include roads that provide access to federal and state facilities (Special Service Roads).

The Interstate highways in the state are Interstate 95 (I-95; the Connecticut Turnpike) traveling southwest to northeast along the coast, I-84 traveling southwest to northeast in the center of the state, I-91 traveling north to south in the center of the state, and I-395 traveling north to south near the eastern border of the state.

Rail:
Southwestern Connecticut is served by the Metro-North Railroad‘s New Haven Line, operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and providing commuter service to New York City and New Haven, with branches servicing New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury. Connecticut lies along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor which features frequent Northeast Regional and Acela Express service. Towns between New Haven and New London are also served by the Shore Line East commuter line. A commuter rail service called the Hartford Line between New Haven and Springfield on Amtrak’s New Haven-Springfield Line is scheduled to begin operating in 2016. Amtrak also operates a shuttle service between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts, serving Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin, Hartford, Windsor Locks, and Springfield, MA and the Vermonter runs from Washington to St. Albans, Vermont via the same line.

Bus:
Statewide bus service is supplied by Connecticut Transit, owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, with smaller municipal authorities providing local service. Bus networks are an important part of the transportation system in Connecticut, especially in urban areas like Hartford, Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport and New Haven.

Ferry:
The Rocky Hill – Glastonbury Ferry and the Chester–Hadlyme Ferry cross the Connecticut River. The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry travels between Bridgeport, Connecticut and Port Jefferson, New York by crossing Long Island Sound. Ferry service also operates out of New London to Orient, New York; Fishers Island, New York; and Block Island, Rhode Island.

Other:
Connecticut also has a very active bicycling community, with one of the highest rates of bicycle ownership and use in the United States. According to the US Census 2006 American Community Survey, New Haven has the highest percentage of commuters who bicycle to work of any major metropolitan center on the East Coast.

Directions by City or Zip (Postcode)

You’ll probably need maps, directions or both at some point in your travels. Just type the starting place in the first box, the ending destination in the second box and click “Go”. As an example, you could enter your home address as the starting point and the address of the place you are to stay at as the destination.

Counties:

There are currently eight counties in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Four of them were created in 1666, during the first consolidation of the colony of Connecticut from a number of smaller colonies. Two counties were created during colonial times, and two counties, Middlesex and Tolland, were created after American independence (both in 1785). Six of the counties are named for locations in England, where many early Connecticut settlers originated.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day

February 2, 2019All day

Groundhog Day falls on February 2 in the United States, coinciding with Candlemas. It is a part of popular culture among many Americans and it centers on the idea of the groundhog coming out of its home to “predict” the weather.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

February 14, 2019All day

Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14. It is a festival of romantic love and many people give cards, letters, flowers or presents to their spouse or partner. They may also arrange a romantic meal in a restaurant or night in a hotel. Common symbols of Valentine's Day are hearts, red roses and Cupid.

Read Across America Day

Read Across America Day

March 2, 2019All day

Many people in the United States, particularly students, parents and teachers, join forces on Read Across America Day. This nationwide observance coincides with the birthday of Dr Seuss, who is known for writing children’s books.

Texas Independence Day

Texas Independence Day

March 2, 2019No Time Set.

Texas Independence Day is the celebration of the adoption of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. With this document signed by 59 people, settlers in Mexican Texas officially declared independence from Mexico and created the Republic of Texas.

The Republic of Texas existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. The republic's southern- and western-most boundary with Mexico was under dispute throughout the republic's entire existence. Texas claimed the boundary as the Rio Grande (a.k.a. Río Bravo/Río Bravo del Norte), while Mexico claimed the boundary as the Nueces River. This dispute would later become a trigger for the Mexican–American War of 1846–48. The republic's independence ended with Texas's annexation by the U.S. on December 29, 1845.

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